How to Think Like a Roman Emperor Book Summary - How to Think Like a Roman Emperor Book explained in key points

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How to Think Like a Roman Emperor summary

Name: How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
Rating: 4.7 (354 reviews)
Author: Donald Robertson

Donald Robertson

The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

4.7 (354 ratings)

20 mins

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How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
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What’s in it for me? Get valuable insights into Stoicism from a legendary Roman emperor.

Few people in history have managed to stand the test of time to earn universal admiration. Opinions on historical figures often change from one generation of scholars to the next. Yet, Marcus Aurelius has always been regarded as one of the greatest Roman emperors.

But Aurelius is recognized as more than just a great ruler; he’s also known as a remarkable thinker and one of the key minds in the philosophical school of Stoicism. Unlike other Roman emperors, Aurelius had a relatively simple and consistent approach to life that helped him live virtuously even in times of hardship and emotional stress.

By learning the basics of Marcus Aurelius’s approach to Stoicism, you can begin to think like a Roman emperor and perhaps rethink your own approach to life’s many challenges.

In these blinks, you’ll find out

why Stoics shouldn’t be thought of as emotionless, logic-driven bores;
why taking a cold shower can be a character-building exercise; and
how we could all benefit from Marcus Aurelius’s communication techniques.

Stoics believe in living a virtuous and wise life in agreement with nature.

Like all philosophies, Stoicism has foundational tenets. If you had any prior idea of what the word “stoic” means, you may have believed that it was synonymous with having a “stiff upper lip.” But that’s only part of what it means to be a Stoic. If you were to boil down the tenets of this ancient philosophy into a single idea, it would be this: To live a satisfying life is to live in harmony with the natural order of things.

For the Stoics, living in agreement with nature was the logical and reasonable thing to do. After all, you come from nature and eventually return to it. So while you’re alive, the wise and virtuous thing to do is to act in accordance with nature.

To a Stoic, an important part of living in agreement with nature is accepting fate as it is, not as it should be or might be. Men like Marcus Aurelius believed that the life they were dealt was just as good as any other life for which they could wish. To think otherwise would be unreasonable and illogical.

This doesn't mean Stoics go through life without having preferences. A Stoic, like anyone else, would prefer to be healthy rather than sick, and wealthy and resourceful rather than poor. However, the Stoics believed that every person, be they rich and powerful or sick and poor, has the same nature flowing through them and should live wisely and virtuously no matter their current circumstances. In fact, it’s often the wealthy and successful people who fail to live virtuously. One fact that didn’t escape Marcus Aurelius and other early Stoics is that wealthy and powerful people often squandered their lives chasing pleasures that ultimately made them miserable. Hardly virtuous living.

But what exactly is virtue according to Stoicism? And why is it important to live virtuously in the first place?

Developing a relationship with virtue gives you a consistent behavioral compass on which to rely, no matter what life throws your way.

Most people would probably prefer to live a virtuous life. However, the very idea of virtue is not only hard to pin down but can also be extremely difficult to adhere to on a day-to-day basis.

When you look at early Stoic writings, you’ll find they outline four cardinal virtues: wisdom, morality, courage, and moderation. These are the virtues that guide you to a harmonious life where you accept yourself and others as citizens of the universe, and where you also gracefully accept the external events you can’t control.

If you master your passions, authentic happiness will naturally follow.

Life is often compared to a roller-coaster ride – and for good reason. Some days we’re riding high and feeling unbeatable; other days, we’re down in the dumps, feeling blue, angry, or even cursed, as if the world were out to get us.

Marcus Aurelius refused to spend his life being thrown between highs and lows like this. Early on in his life, he recognized that he had some real anger issues, and he knew that bad things happened when he gave himself over to those bouts of fury. Fortunately, he found a way to manage this anger with the Stoic philosophy.

It makes no sense to wish for immortality because it’s logically impossible.

Will you be remembered the day after you die? How about a year or a decade or a millennium afterward? Logically speaking, everything in history, great and small, will eventually be forgotten.

For some people, the fact that they will one day be forgotten is a great source of anxiety. So, they will behave irrationally and go to extreme and foolish lengths in a futile effort to leave a permanent stamp on history and thereby become immortal.

Stoic philosophy is not about suppression or passivity, it’s a matter of choosing personal reactions wisely and accepting reality joyfully.

There are a lot of popular misunderstandings about Stoicism. Many people think that being Stoic means focusing on death and avoiding entertainment and pleasure. And then there are those who think Stoics are all like Mister Spock: unemotional, logic-obsessed, and boring.

Some of these ideas come from the fact that many of the writings the Stoics have left behind tend to be quite dry, with a matter-of-fact style that can feel passionless and off-putting.

It’s possible to make peace with physical pain through controlled practice.

No one wants to live life in a state of constant pain, but some people aren’t exactly given a choice. The human body, after all, isn’t impervious to ailments, and some can be long-lasting or chronic.

Marcus Aurelius, as it happens, wasn’t what you’d call a healthy man. In fact, for most of his life he suffered from painful ailments. In the later stages of his life, he had chronic chest and stomach pains and was known to be especially frail.

When you recognize the value of voluntary hardship, you’ll enjoy the good things in life more.

While physical pain can be one of life’s most challenging discomforts, hardship can come in many different forms over the course of a lifetime. The Stoics, including Aurelius, knew that it was part of the human condition to want things that were pleasurable and easy to attain. Yet Aurelius could see that people were unsatisfied with their lives for the simple reason that it’s unsustainable to keep thinking that things should always be pleasurable and convenient.

This is where the practice of voluntary hardship comes in. Food, warm water, a soft bed, and a roof over your head may be fixtures in your life today, but that doesn’t mean you should take them for granted or assume they’ll be around tomorrow. This is one of the reasons a modern Stoic might routinely take cold showers even when hot water is available.

Marcus Aurelius believed that mentorship and constructive criticism led to greater personal accountability.

When you woke up today, you probably didn’t immediately start thinking about what actions you could take so that you could end the day feeling like a virtuous person. But why shouldn’t you? Having a strong daily focus like this is a huge part of the Stoic philosophy and therefore was a guiding force in the life of Marcus Aurelius.

In his role as an emperor, Aurelius went so far as to insist that he have someone in his inner circle to hold him accountable to his ideals. This shows that he was well aware of the blind spots everyone is capable of having and that it is much easier to point out someone else’s flaws than it is to recognize and call attention to your own.

You can use counter-rhetoric to balance out discussions when people rely on emotions to prove a point.

Last but not least, let’s look at one aspect of daily life that just about everyone has to deal with in one way or another: words and communication. Like many great leaders before and since, Marcus Aurelius was quite the public speaker and a persuasive debater. These can be useful skills to sharpen up, especially in today’s divisive political climate.

In the years leading up to his crowning as emperor of Rome, Aurelius spent a lot of time preparing for his future duties. This included learning the value of rhetoric, which involved understanding how flowery and emotional words can be used to win arguments and inflame the passions of the crowd while actually saying nothing of substance.

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What is How to Think Like a Roman Emperor about?

How to Think Like a Roman Emperor (2019) describes the guiding principles of Stoicism through the life and writings of Marcus Aurelius. As one of the most esteemed Roman emperors, his most admired characteristics as a leader were informed by the philosophy of the Stoics. We also find out how these practices can be followed by anyone today.

Who should read How to Think Like a Roman Emperor?

Amateur and advanced Stoics looking for a fresh perspective
People curious about the life of Marcus Aurelius
Anyone interested in how ancient philosophy mixes with modern psychology

About the Author

Donald Robertson was born in Scotland and worked for two decades as a psychotherapist in London. Since 2011, he has helped run the annual Stoic Week, an international event teaching students how to mix Stoic philosophy with modern psychology.

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